Hi, my name is Ramla Zareen. I am a beta reader and an aspiring author of light-hearted Romantic fiction. This blog was initiated by me but I now share it with Maha, my best friend and a beauty blogger, and it includes topics relevant to perfumes, beauty, wellness and lifestyle. Currently both of us are on a temporary break from this blog but visitors are always welcome to browse around. Thanks!

Monday, November 24, 2014

My Favourite Perfumes & Lipsticks (By Ramla Zareen)

Hello everyone, the following are some of my favourite perfumes and lipsticks:

Sugar Pop #20, Cosmo, Brave, Fast Play, Twig, Brick-O-La, Retro

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MONDAY, JULY 11, 2016

SOME OF MY FAVOURITE "PINKISH-BROWN" LIPSTICKS! ☺

Hi, this is Ramla Zareen, with a blogpost on my favourite "pinkish-brown" lipsticks and I would like to begin with a small confession. Just between you, me and anyone else who might be reading this blogpost, my loved ones often used to claim that make up is not at all among my areas of expertise, to which charge I always pleaded guilty and it was only about five months back, that I finally decided to stop completely depending upon the loving generosity of my makeup-gifting aunts and for the first time in my thirty-two years of life, stepped into a store to buy a lipstick for myself, lolz. ☺

Well ok, so maybe it wasn't exactly the first time that I bought a lipstick but it was definitely the first time that I actually ventured to put some thought into my purchase instead of randomly picking up the first lipstick that attracted my attention or blindly following the suggestion of the person with whom I happened to be shopping.

Anyway, what was supposed to be a maximum of five hours of pleasurable task, spanned into an exhausting project of about five months and I realized just how difficult it could be to find a good lipstick, that is, a lipstick whose shade was appealing as well as appropriate, that was comfortable to wear as well as long lasting, that didn't contain bad odour and taste nor induce an allergic reaction, and that was readily available as well as within budget.

Now, after spending the past few months researching, experimenting, thinking and dreaming lipsticks, it gives me much pleasure to be able to share the names of those lipsticks that satisfy most of my above-mentioned requirements, in the hope that some of you might find this information both interesting as well as useful. ☺

Before proceeding with the list of names, I would like to mention that one of the things that I have discovered regarding my preferences is that my favourite lipstick shade is "pinkish-brown" (followed by mid-tone "pinkish-reddish-berry" but that's for another day), mainly because it's a pretty and neutral colour, and seems to beautify the lips, brighten up the face and enhance the appearance, all, in a subtle and natural way. ☺

Unlike the more traditional nudes of beige and grey, which in my opinion, unless worn with a properly applied complementing face and eye make up, can make some women look like they are unhealthy, deprived or victims of harsh treatment, which can raise the attention of women's rights activists and can cause all kinds of complications in life, lolz. ☺ (No offence to those who like such shades, it's true that some women do manage to carry them off with aplomb but after much experimentation I had to conclude that they are just not for me).

Anyway, as you are all probably aware, there are actually two basic variations of the "pinkish-brown" lipstick shade. One is "pinkish-mauve-brown" and the other is "pinkish-orange-brown".

Some of the beauty experts claim that the "pinkish-mauve-brown" is more suited for those with cool-to-neutral undertones and the "pinkish-orange-brown" is more appropriate for those with warm-to-neutral undertones.

Well, I am no expert, but it's my humble opinion that this is not a hard and fast rule and it mainly depends on how the colours are combined together. While it's true that shades that contain too much "pink-mauve" and too less "brown" might not be very appropriate for those with warm undertones and shades that contain too much "orange-brown" and too less "pink" might not suit those with cool undertones, however, I honestly do believe that most of the "pinkish-brown" variations are universally flattering and suit women of both cool and warm undertones. ☺

Anyway, today not only am I going to list down the names of some of my favourite "pinkish-brown" lipsticks, but it's also my intention to provide my opinion, based on research, observation and experience, on which skin tones and undertones each lipstick is best suited for, again, in the hope that this information might be helpful to some of you. ☺

Guess I should also mention that though my complexion is not fair in the truest sense of the word but it won't be inaccurate to state that my skin tone is somewhat on the lighter side of the light-to-medium spectrum and also, from what I have been able to determine, my undertone is most probably warm-to-neutral ...and all of these four lipsticks seem to suit me quite well, yayyyy! ☺

Well, here's the list:

1) MAC Brave, a "pinkish-mauve-brown" lipstick. Most of the time, all the three colours remain equally balanced but in certain lights, the "pinkish-mauve" part can become quite diminished and in some other lights, the "brown" part takes a back seat. One thing that must be mentioned is that in certain lights, there also seems to be a bit of a "grey" present, which might clash with certain skin tones, and so it would always be better not to buy it before trying it out in different lights.

Best suited for light skin tones, though in some cases, it can work for those with medium skin tones as well. Appropriate for women of all undertones, from cool-to-neutral-to-warm.

2) NYX Matte Lipstick Tea Rose MLS11,also a "pinkish-mauve-brown" lipstick, but brighter and "pinker" than MAC Brave, and in certain lights, the "mauve" part can become very prominent, and so it would always be better for women with warm undertones not to buy it before trying it out in different lights.

Appropriate for those with light-to-medium skin tones. Best suited for cool-to-neutral undertones, though in some cases, it can work for women with warm undertones as well.

3) MAC Cosmo, a "pinkish-orange-brown" lipstick, though in certain lights, the "pink" part can almost completely disappear and the lipstick becomes more of an "orange-brown" shade, which in my opinion, means that it might not work for women with cool undertones.

Best suited for light skin tones, though in some cases, it can work for women with medium skin tones as well. Appropriate for those with warm-to-neutral undertones.

4) Bobbi Brown Lip Color Tulle #34, also a "pinkish-orange-brown", but brighter and "pinker" than MAC Cosmo, with just enough "orange-brown" to restrain it from being overwhelming. One thing that is a bit unusual is that in certain lights, there also seems to be a bit of a "mauve" mixed with the "pinkish-orange-brown", but in my opinion, this just goes on to make it a shade that can be equally flattering to women of both cool and warm undertones.

Best suited for light skin tones, though in some cases, it can work for those with medium skin tones as well. Appropriate for women of all undertones, from cool-to-neutral-to-warm.

Here are the swatches:

(1) MAC Brave (2) NYX Matte Tea Rose (3) MAC Cosmo (4) BB Tulle #34

The following are the swatches of MAC Brave and NYX Matte Tea Rose.

(Both are variations of "pinkish-mauve-brown", with the later being comparatively brighter and pinker of the two.)

(1) MAC Brave (2) NYX Matte Tea Rose

The following are the swatches of MAC Cosmo and Bobbi Brown Tulle #34.

(Both are variations of "pinkish-orange-brown", with the later being comparatively brighter and pinker of the two.)

(1) MAC Cosmo (2) Bobbi Brown Tulle #34

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NOTE (INTERESTED IN A GUEST WRITER FOR YOUR BLOG?): It would be a pleasure and an honour for me to share this information with as many people as possible so if any of the beauty/fashion/lifestyle bloggers are interested in letting me re-publish my above blogpost on MY FAVOURITE "PINKISH-BROWN" LIPSTICKS as a guest writer on their blogs then they are most welcome to contact me by leaving a comment or emailing me at ramlazareen@gmail.com

Well, hope you enjoyed checking out my favourite perfumes and lipsticks, please share your favourites as well, especially if you can recommend some similar to mine then that would be highly appreciated ☺ ...and if you have a blog on perfumes, beauty, wellness and lifestyle etc, then please do leave a link, it will be a pleasure for me to visit ☺

Moreover, bookworms and readaholics are most welcome to check out my website:

10 comments:

Poison by Dior. Coco by Channel. My favourites. Does that make me old fashioned!?! These fragrances stay a long time on me. Living in a country where it's quite humid, long lasting fragrance is need of the day. My other favourites are Knowing by Estee Lauder & Obsession by cK. On my last visit to uk I bought Crystal Noir by Versace. I found that too was to my liking. Hoping some reviews in future will be done on these brands as well. Huma

Well, as you can see, Dior Poison & Coco Chanel are among my favourites too! I would definitely not call us old-fashioned, instead I would say that we have good taste to appreciate sophisticated classics :-)

By the way, if Coco Chanel is among your favourites then probably you might also like YSL Opium. Please do check it out.

Anyway, have noted the brands on which you have requested reviews, will try my best to cover them in the near future, thanks for visiting my blog! :-)

Lovely detailed post. I also don't like beige and grey shades in nude Lipsticks. Such shades might look good for photo shoots under special lighting but for desi skin tones like us they can look horrible too. And Bobbi Brown Tulle #34 is a perfect daily wear shade. Love your choice.😃

An interesting observation on the beige and the grey nudes, Shumail, and also glad to know that you agree about Bobbi Brown Tulle #34, it has become my everyday lipstick ever since I have discovered it and even it's high price won't be able to stop me from repurchasing it once my current tube runs out ...just hope that my husband doesn't read these last few words, lolz ;-)

Anyway, thanks for visiting my blog and for your words of appreciation :-)

Hi, glad to know that we have similar taste in lipsticks :-) MAC Brave is great, and if I were to base my selection only on the formula, then my preference would be Matte lipsticks as well. Moreover, though certain shades of "pink" can be too loud to complement every dress but I agree that most of the "pinkish-brown" neutrals do manage to go with a variety of outfits.

Anyway, thanks a lot for visiting my blog and for leaving a comment :-)

Gosh I'm so picky when it comes to perfumes but I like your picks! Also Mac Brave and BB Tulle are such gorgeous shades! I also love Daisy Pink from Luscious Cosmetics, these Pinkish-Brownish shades do compliment most of the skin tones.

Hi Gul Zehra, thanks for visiting my blog and for leaving a comment. It's good to know that you liked my perfume selection. It's my belief that perfumes not only have an impact on our moods and emotions but they are also a reflection of our distinct personalities, especially since each perfume, when combined with a certain skin chemistry, gives off a unique fragrance particular to that individual only. Hence your pickiness is entirely justified! Also glad to know that you agree about pinkish-brown shades and that you liked two of my most favourite lipsticks :-) Will definitely check out the one you recommended as well, thanks again! :-)

ABOUT ME

Hi, my name is Ramla Zareen and I was born on 23rd January, 1984. I am originally from Pakistan but have been settled in Germany since 2006, where I live with my husband and daughter, and am now officially a German national.

Reading and writing are my most favourite pastimes and I am happiest when immersed in the wonderful world of fiction.My favourite genres to read are Golden-Age Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy and Chick-Lit.

These days I am writing a light-hearted Romantic novella, in the hope that it will give at least half as much pleasure to others as the books by my favourite authors have given me.

It's always a pleasure to become friends with those who share my love for books so please feel free to connect with me, thanks! :-)